Mill Road Fishery

News Archive 2008

Heart Stopping Action for Ian

One of our regular anglers, Ian North helped himself to this lovely looking 13lb mirror today.  Ian pole fished double dog biscuit against the island to take the fish and was very pleased, if a little worn out after the fight! Well done Ian.

There was plenty to watch over the weekend as many of the carp began their annual spawning.  With a week of warm weather the water reached the right temperature for the fish and they got on with the job in hand.  Hopefully the weather will continue settled and they will complete their spawning and will be feeding hard to get back to peak fitness. (31 May)

Bumper Bank Holiday

The fishing over the weekend was very good and a number of anglers went home with personal best fish.  Ten year old Darren Dayken looked as pleased as anything with this really nice Rudd.  Also happy with his fishing was Tom Barlow, who took this nicely scaled fish on bread in the early evening with fish rising all around. (28 May)

Junior fishing

One of the rewarding things about running the Mill Road Fishery is seeing the enjoyment that many children get from catching fish of any size.  The lake is great for giving youngsters plenty of bites to keep them interested.  We definitely encourage parents and grand-parents etc to bring their children, however this comes with the responsibility of making sure that they are properly supervised.  We will not tolerate behaviour that is disruptive to the other anglers at the lake.  See the news item at the bottom of this page for hints on taking juniors fishing. (May 10)

Heart Stopping Stuff

All the talk in the fishery car park this weekend was of heart by-pass operations and the like.  I think this was caused by the fishing action!  The carp were in an obliging mood and several specimens were taken.  One of last year's regulars Ian North was back after a break due to ill health and in his first session took carp up to 15lb on the pole fished in the island margins. (May 3)

Easter Weekend

The lake is starting to look really good now, lots of the trees planted in the winter are now in leaf and the marginal plants are starting to come through.  The water levels have stayed below our planned level which means that we can now get on with sorting some of the remaining swims that need attention.  The first to go is the one in the far corner which was one we had earmarked for removal from the start.  We will continue the process throughout the spring, the aim is to end up with around 12 swims (compared to 17 now) all of which will be better positioned.

The lake was fairly busy over the bank holiday weekend with several regulars making a re-appearance along with the warmer weather.  Plenty of fish were being caught and I managed 15 fish in about 3 hours in various sizes up to 8lb.  All my fish were caught float-fishing in the margins, literally under my rod-tip.  I see so many people trying to cast the length of the lake, when most of the time there are fish within a few feet of the bank.  I fished a small pole float on rod and line with a size 12 barbless hook on 3lb line.  Alternating sweetcorn and luncheon meat on the hook and feeding corn and pellets regularly. (April 12)

Dan gets personal best

Regular visitors Matty and Dan got amongst the fish this weekend.  In total they had 16 fish including specimens of 8lb and 10lb topped off by this personal best to Dan of 14lb.

Both lads have fished throughout some very wet and cold weather this spring and I'm sure they will be landing even bigger fish as the spring warms up.  Matty is looking for his first twenty from the lake after his 19lb PB late last year. (April 10)

Lee's late submission 

Here is a nice picture received recently from Lee Haylett.  Lee landed the15lb 2 mirror last summer after taking it off the top on dog biscuits (March 18)

Out-fished by youngster

Curtis Todd brought his young nephew for a few hours angling on Friday afternoon and was comprehensively out-fished! 9 year old Brandon had these two cracking fish making the most of the spring-like weather. Also a great example of how to take good photos and look after the fish, Brandon holding the fish nice and low to prevent any accidents.

The fishery saw a few more anglers this weekend and even the tench were feeding. Our flood prevention plans are working well and most swims are clear of the water. (February 24)

Flood Control 

Regular visitors to Mill Road Fishery will know that in previous years we have suffered from high water levels.  This meant many of the swims were under water during the winter and early spring and the paths were permanently flooded. - Well no more!!  The long awaited flood alleviation measures are now in place and working a treat.  During December with a little help from Keith and David we cleared the 'old dyke' which runs between our two fields and constructed the 'new dyke' to allow the lake to overflow into the drainage system.  I have to say driving the digger was great fun!!  We are now monitoring the water level and during the past month it was only fluctuated by less than an inch.  Now that the lake level has stabilised we will be able to adjust the height of the lower swims and continue to develop the banks.  (30 February, 2009)

Best session yet

Kevin Doran had his best ever session at Mill Road yesterday.  Arriving at 16:30 he landed 20 carp and tench including - 16 fish up to 4lb and carp of 4 1/2lb, 7lb, 7 1/2lb and a personal best fish of 10 1/2lb (pictured).  Kevin was keeping his tactics quiet, but says in his email "Congratulations on a well run, well stocked fishery." 

Kevin also sent in a picture of his son Cameron who on a previous session had taken a personal best carp of 3 1/2lb and had his picture in the Angling Times no less.

Well done to both of you. (22 July)

Summer came and went

At least we had a few sunny days before the rain returned! The lake banks have dried out nicely now and most of the swims are fishable.  During the warmer weather the carp were going mad for the floating pellets.  We managed to relax in the sun for the afternoon and had several fish including the one Janet is showing off. 

We have roped off some of the areas in between swims to keep the less thoughtful anglers off the wild areas.  Our intention is to let the spaces between the swims become overgrown.  This will help the wildlife by providing protected habitats and will separate the individual swims.  It does look a bit artificial at the moment, but with a bit of patience we know it will soon look far more natural. (6 July)

Peake Perfection

Here are two fish caught by Russell Peake.  Russell and his partner are regular visitors to the lake.

Youngsters aplenty

One of the really nice things about the summer so far has been the number of young anglers fishing (and catching).  Mill Road is an ideal water for the junior angler to learn the sport.  There are plenty of silver fish to catch, a light pole rig with maggots will guarantee a bite a cast.  For the slightly more patient, a heavier rig in the margins with pellet or meat should bring a succession of small carp and tench.  A few tips for mums, dads and grandparents that bring their young charges: 1. Try and leave your own rod at home, focus on giving the children your attention; 2. If you have more than one junior try fishing one rod and alternating between bites or fish.  This means less tangles and their attention will wander less; 3. If you have two juniors fishing at once then try and fish from one swim, most are big enough to cater for two rods; 4. Fish for short sessions and then go counting butterflies and dragonflies, it will keep their interest levels high; 5. Send us a picture when they catch their new personal best! (5 July)

Surface Frenzy!

This picture shows (not very clearly!) a double figure mirror slurping down surface pellets on Sunday afternoon. The weather was warm and sunny and I was feeding high oil floating pellets and getting the fish competing like mad for the loose feed.  These pellets have much more attraction built in than plain dog biscuits and allow you to feed little and often to get the fish really feeding hard and hopefully making a mistake when you get your hookbait out there.  (8 June)

Green Gems!

The hoards of small tench have woken up and are feeding freely.  One first time visitor fishing this weekend caught over 70 small carp, rudd and tench.  Sport continued throughout the day with fish taken on pole fished maggot and soft pellet in the margins. (1 June)

Darren's 14 pounder

Darren Moore managed to out-fish his three mates with this top carp of 14lb.  The mirror fell to surface fished bread and was caught with a number of other fish off the top even though the sun was barely warming the water. If you have any pictures for the website then email them to info@millroadfishery.co.uk with the details. (30 May)

Lake fishing well

The last bank holiday in May saw a few anglers on the bank and a lot of fish caught.  Young Dylan Osborne fishing with his Dad caught several carp and it was a pleasure to see his excited face!  Everyone who fished caught and I had a couple of dozen carp and tench up to around 5lb.  The banks are now much drier and several swims are now above water!  The trees and shrubs planted during the winter are all doing well, please keep to the main paths to give them the best chance of getting established. (28 May)

Fish waking up

The weather this weekend was kinder than it has been for a while and the fish were very active.  We stood and watched the fish in the shallows moving around and I had a small common on bread.  Another couple on Sunday had several fish in the morning including a double figure fish to the lady angler again on surface fished bread.  The water levels are steadily dropping and it will not be long before most of the swims are accessible again. (27 April)

Why no pictures?

You may notice that there are no pictures to accompany the last few news items.  That is because we had a slight misadventure whilst planting the islands on Easter Sunday.  Suffice to say, we were grateful for the life jackets we were wearing and I now know the cameras are not waterproof! (23 March)

Easter Fishing

It was absolutely freezing and the wind was blowing a gale, but I braved the conditions for a few hours over the Bank Holiday and was rewarded with a few small carp up to around 8lb.  If you could find where the fish were they were definitely feeding.  I had bites on luncheon meat and Dynamite Baits pineapple boilies. (21 March)

More planting

One of our main objectives is to make the lake and surrounding area a haven for local wildlife.  Over the Easter bank Holiday weekend we planted over 100 native trees and shrubs on the banks and the islands.  This included Alder, Elder, Pussy Willow and Bird Cherry trees and Purging Blackthorn, Broom, Wild Rose and Snowberry.  Some of these have been positioned so that in time they will create more intimate swims and keep the access away from the lake margins between the swims. (20 March)

New signs

As part of our changes to improve the lake we have replaced all the signs.  The main board by the car park has the rules, ticket prices and opening times.  We have also put up signs on the road to help the new visitors find the lake more easily. (22 February)

A winter double 

I had a few hours fishing on Saturday.  It was chilly, but the sun made it feel warmer when I was tucked out of the wind.  I had 30 or so small Roach and Rudd on red maggots.  I used a 1g pole float with a barbless16 hook on 4lb line in case the carp turned up.  I had bites all morning, most of which I missed.  For the last hour I switched to luncheon meat ledgered in deeper water.  I had several bites and managed three Carp, the best of which was this one that was just 10 pounds.         (14 January 2008)

More steps 

We have completed two more sets of steps down to the lake edge this time on the far side of the lake.  The next stage will be to raise the level of some of the fishing platforms.  The water level keeps on rising and is probably 6 inches higher now than it was in the summer. And before anyone else suggests it - no, pumping the water out will not make any difference! (13 January 2008)

Fishery Accreditation Scheme

We have started to work toward achieving a certificate under the Fishery Accreditation Scheme (a joint scheme run by the Environment Agency, the Institute of Fisheries Management and the Angling Foundation).  This scheme seeks to improve the competence of fisheries managers and to achieve similar improvements in those that supply fish, provide advice, transport fish and carry out health examinations. In order to achieve an accreditation we will have to put in place many of the key elements of the IFM code of practice that relate to the quality of the environment and the way it is managed. (January 2008)

Winter Fishing 

It was not all digging and tidying up, I managed to get away for a few hours on Christmas Eve morning.  The lake had been frozen for several days and this was the first 'ice free' morning.  I fished at the far end sheltering from the cold wind.  Using maggots, casters and pellet I caught Roach and Rudd all morning together with a couple of small carp.(Christmas 2007)

Christmas Holiday 

During the Festive break we began the process of improving the access to some of the swims.  We started at the far end and burned off a few mince pies digging steps into the thick, heavy clay.  I say started, but we finished there too as I had to go and have a lie down! 

During the coming months we will construct steps down to more of the swims on the far side as well as raising the level of the wooden staging so that we can fish without getting wet feet!

We also took our new boat out onto the lake for its maiden journey.  The sharp eyed will notice that the lake is frozen, made rowing a challenge!

We managed to break our way through the ice to reach the islands and spent an enjoyable few hours clearing the dead thistles and assorted floats, line and leads.  Everyone says that the islands look much better for their haircut.  We will start to plant up with some native trees and shrubs before the spring.        (31 December, 2007)

Kirk nets PB 

Regular visitor Kirk claimed his first double figure carp fishing in the cold November winds.  Kirk moved swims several times to try and find the carp and eventually persuaded this 12lb mirror to pick up his 'pop-up' fished between the islands.  Kirk had the lake to himself, well done for sticking at it!        (22 November, 2007)

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